Dons Trust SGM: Your Questions, Our Updates, and Two Big Votes
On Monday 11th August 2025, we held our latest Special General Meeting in the 1889 Lounge at Plough Lane and online. It was another brilliant night that showed exactly what makes us a fan-owned club.
A Flying Start with Aaron Paul
We kicked things off with a special Q&A as Maddi Sweetman sat down with broadcaster Aaron Paul to talk about the season ahead. Aaron gave his take on the squad, the challenges of League One, and why he reckons we’ve got reasons to be excited. Maddie kept him on his toes with some sharp questions, and the chat set the perfect tone for the evening.
The Main Business – John Green and Across the Pond Dons
The biggest item on the agenda was the proposed minority investment from Across the Pond Dons, LLC, a group of investors led by long-time supporter and author John Green.
Two resolutions were put to members to make this happen:
Resolution 1 – to allow AFCW plc to create up to 737,371 new ordinary shares (nominal value £0.01 each) over the next three years.
Resolution 2 – to let the club issue those shares directly to Across the Pond Dons LLC, without having to offer new shares to every existing shareholder.
Members voted in December 2024 to authorise any issue of A ordinary shares down to the 75%+1 limit. This was to enable ongoing bond swaps for shares month on month as bonds fall due for redemption. With the ordinary shares, the first resolution was asking for authority to issue the maximum amount of Ordinary shares again taking us down to the DT owning 75%+1 of these shares. Whilst we did not need to have authority to issue the full amount in order to complete the Across the Pond Dons LLC transaction, if we do find other minority investors to buy the remaining approximately 3% of shares left, it makes practical sense to have authority to do so. We may be looking at a rights issue for existing shareholders or a wider crowd funding equity raise in the next year if we are unable to sell the remaining equity in one block. It’s important that we are able to issue shares without breaching the 75%+1 limit. It is important to note that we are not able to issue shares that would take the DT shareholding below 75%+1 of the voting rights – this would need to come to a members’ vote.
Put simply: these votes gave the green light for the John Green investment, while keeping the all-important 75% +1 fan ownership lock firmly in place.
How You Voted
Members backed both resolutions by huge margins:
Resolution 1 – 95.08% in favour (1,642 for, 85 against, 130 abstain)
Resolution 2 – 93.49% in favour (1,595 for, 111 against, 163 abstain)
That’s a clear message of support, we want the investment, but we also want supporter control protected.
Fundraising and Finances
We also shared updates on the financial front:
- Since January 2025, Plough Lane bondholders have raised £598,042 for the club and Dons Trust through donations and equity swaps.
These are fantastic numbers and show just how powerful our fanbase is when we pull together.
Membership on the Rise
Our membership is booming, we closed the 2024/25 season with 7,824 members (up from 3,488 the year before). That includes:
- Over 7,000 UK-based members
- 769 from overseas, including 435 in the US
- 854 under-25s (up from just 197 the year before)
That growth is something we can all be proud of, more fans, more voices, more strength.
We also covered:
Progress on the Trust’s long-term strategy.
Work on constitutional changes.
How the Dons Trust Discord has become a buzzing space for fans to ask questions, debate strategy, and chat matchdays.
Thank You
A big thank you to everyone who came along, tuned in, voted, or sent in questions.
Nights like this are what fan ownership is all about, open debate, proper accountability, and decisions made by the people who care the most: you.